Synopsis:

Islam is the monotheistic religion articulated by the Qur’an,

a text considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of Godand by the
teachings and normative example (called the Sunnah) of Muhammad, the
last Prophet of Islam. The word Islam means 'Submission to God', and an
adherent of Islam is called a Muslim.

Muslim believe that God is one and incomparable. Muslims also believe that
Islam is the completed and universal version of a primordial faith that was
revealed at many times and places before, including through
the prophets Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Muslims maintain that previous
messages and revelations have been changed and corrupted over time, but
consider the Quran to be both unaltered and the final revelation from God.
Religious practices include the Five Pillars of Islam, which are five
obligatory acts of worship, and the following of Islamic law, which touches
on virtually every aspect of life and society, encompassing everything
from banking and welfare to warfare and the environment.

Etymology and Meaning

The word islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m,
and is derived from the Arabic verb ’áslama, which means "to give up,
to desert, to surrender (to God)."[17][18] Another word derived from the
same root is salaam (‫ )سلما‬which means 'Peace'.[19][20] Believers
demonstrate submission to God by worshipping Him, following His
commands, and avoiding polytheism. The word sometimes has distinct
connotations in its various occurrences in the Qur'an. In some verses
(ayat), there is stress on the quality of Islam as an internal conviction:
"Whomsoever God desires to guide, He expands his breast to
Islam."[21] Other verses connect islām and dīn (usually translated as
 "religion"): "Today, I have perfected your religion (dīn) for you; I have
completed My blessing upon you; I have approved Islam for your
religion."[22] Still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God
—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith.[23] Another technical
meaning in Islamic thought is as one part of a triad
of islam, imān (faith), and ihsān (excellence) where it represents acts
of worship (`ibādah) and Islamic law (sharia).

Articles of faith
Islam's fundamental theological concept is Monotheism—the belief that
there is only one God. The Arabic term for God is Allāh; most scholars
believe it was derived from a contraction of the words al- (the)
and ʾilāh (deity, masculine form), meaning "the god" , but others trace its
origin to the Aramaic Alāhā. Other non-Arabic nations might use different
names as much as Allah, for instance "Tanrı" in Turkish or "Khodā"
in Persian.
In traditional Islamic theology, God is beyond all comprehension; Muslims
are not expected to visualize God but to worship and adore Him as the
Protector. They believe that the purpose of existence is to worship God. The
Qur'an has described God by certain attributes or names, the most common
being al-rahman, meaning "the compassionate" and al-rahim, meaning "the
merciful" (See Names oTurkishf God in Islam). God is described in chapter
112 of the Qur'an as:
"Say: He is God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He
bequetteth not, nor is He begotten; and there is none like unto Him." (112:1-
4)

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Revelations

The Islamic holy books are the records which most Muslims believe were
dictated by God to various prophets, with the Qur'an as the last book.
Muslims believe that parts of the previously revealed scriptures,
the Tawrat (Torah) and the Injil (Gospels), had become distorted—either in
interpretation, in text, or both. Muslims believe that the Qur'an is the literal
Word of God; it is the central religious text of Islam revealed in
Arabic. Muslims believe that the verses of the Qur'an were revealed to
Muhammad by God through the archangel Gabriel (Jibrīl). On many
occasions between 610 and his death on June 8, 632. The Qur'an was
reportedly written down by Muhammad's companions (sahabah) while he
was alive, although the prime method of transmission was orally. It was
compiled in the time of Abu Bakr, the first caliph, and was standardized
under the administration of Uthman, the third caliph.
The Qur'an is divided into 114 suras, or chapters, which combined, contain
6,236 āyāt, or verses. The chronologically earlier suras, revealed atMecca,
are primarily concerned with ethical and spiritual topics. The
later Medinan suras mostly discuss social and moral issues relevant to the
Muslim community. The Qur'an is more concerned with moral guidance
than legal instruction, and is considered the "sourcebook of Islamic
principles and values". Muslim jurists consult the hadith, or the written
record of Prophet Muhammad's life, to both supplement the Qur'an and
assist with its interpretation. The science of Qur'anic commentary and
exegesis is known as tafsir.
The word Qur'an means "recitation". When Muslims speak in the abstract
about "the Qur'an", they usually mean the scripture as recited in Arabic
rather than the printed work or any translation of it. To Muslims, the Qur'an
is perfect only as revealed in the original Arabic; translations are necessarily
deficient because of language differences, the fallibility of translators, and
the impossibility of preserving the original's inspired style. Translations are
therefore regarded only as commentaries on the Qur'an, or "interpretations of

3
its meaning", not as the Qur'an itself. The first translation of part of the
Qur'an was done by Salman the Persian.

Angels
Belief in angels is fundamental to the faith of Islam. The Arabic word for
angel (malak) means "messenger", like its counterparts in Hebrew (malakh)
and Greek (angelos). According to the Qur'an, angels do not possess free
will, and worship God in total obedience. Angels' duties include
communicating revelations from God, glorifying God, recording every
person's actions, and taking a person's soul at the time of death. They are
also thought to intercede on man's behalf. The Qur'an describes angels as
"messengers with wings—two, or three, or four (pairs): He [God] adds to
Creation as He pleases..."

Prophets

Muslims identify the prophets of Islam (Arabic) as those humans chosen by

God to be His messengers. According to the Qur'an the descendants of
Abraham and Imran were chosen by God to bring the "Will of God" to the
peoples of the nations. Muslims believe that prophets are human and not
divine, though some are able to perform miracles to prove their claim.
Islamic theology says that all of God's messengers preached the message of
Islam—submission to the Will of God. The Qur'an mentions the names of
numerous figures considered prophets in Islam, including
Adam , Noah , Abraham, Moses and Jesus, among others.[38] Muslims
believe that God finally sent Muhammad (Seal of the Prophets) to convey
the divine message to the whole world (to sum up and to finalize the word of
God), whereas he had previously sent the other messengers (rusul) to convey
their messages to all men of faith, the family of Abraham.

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Resurrection and judgment
Belief in the "Day of Resurrection", Qiyamah is also crucial for Muslims.
They believe that the time of Qiyāmah is preordained by God but unknown
to man. The trials and tribulations preceding and during theQiyāmah are
described in the Qur'an and the hadith, and also in the commentaries
of scholars. The Qur'an emphasizes bodily resurrection, a break from
the pre-Islamic Arabianunderstanding of death.
The Qur'an lists several sins that can condemn a person to hell, such as
disbelief, riba, and dishonesty. Muslims view heaven as a place of joy and
bliss, with Qur'anic references describing its features and the physical
pleasures to come. There are also references to ridwān. Mystical traditions in
Islam place these heavenly delights in the context of an ecstatic awareness of
God.

Predestination
In accordance with the Islamic belief in predestination, or divine
preordainment (al-qadā wa'l-qadar), God has full knowledge and control
over all that occurs. This is explained in Qur'anic verses such as "Say:
'Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us: He is our
protector'..." For Muslims, everything in the world that occurs, good or evil,
has been preordained and nothing can happen unless permitted by God.
According to Muslim theologians, although events are pre-ordained, man
possesses free will in that he has the faculty to choose between right and
wrong, and is thus responsible for his actions. According to Islamic tradition,
all that has been decreed by God is written in al-Lawh al-Mahfūz, the
"Preserved Tablet".

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Duties and practices
Five Pillars
The Five Pillars of Islam[45] are five concepts, basic to accepting the religion
for Shia Muslims, and five essential practices for Sunni Muslims.
According to Shia Islam, the five basic pillars are as follow:[46]

1. Monotheism, God is one and unique.

2. Justice, the concept of moral rightness based on ethics, fairness, and
equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics.
3. Last Judgment, God's final assessment of humanity.
4. Prophethood, the institution by which God sends emissaries,
or prophets, to guide mankind.
5. Leadership, A divine institution which succeeded the institution of
Prophethood. Its appointees (Imams) are divinely appointed.

These five pillars are followed by ten subsidiary pillars;

1.Prayer;
2.Fasting;
3.Pilgrimage;
4.Alms giving;
5.Struggle;
6.Directing others towards good;
7.Directing others away from evil;
8.One Fifth (20% tax on all earnings after deduction of house-hold and
commercial expenses.);
9.Love those who are in the God's path;
10.Disassociation with those who oppose the God.
The Five Pillars of Sunni Islam are:

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 1. The shahadah,[47] which is the basic creed of Islam that must be
recited under oath with the specific statement: "'ašhadu 'al-lā ilāha
illā-llāhu wa 'ašhadu 'anna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh", or "I testify
that there is none worthy of worship except God and I testify that
Muhammad is the Messenger of God." This testament is a foundation
for all other beliefs and practices in Islam. Muslims must repeat
the shahadah in prayer, and non-Muslims wishing to convert to Islam
are required to recite the creed.[48]
2. Salah, or ritual prayer, which must be performed five times a day.[49]
3. Sawm, or fasting during the month of Ramadan. Muslims must not eat
or drink (among other things) from dawn to dusk during this month,
and must be mindful of other sins.[50]
4. Zakat, or alms-giving, which is giving a fixed portion of accumulated
wealth by those who can afford it to help the poor or needy, and also
to assist the spread of Islam.[51]
5. The Hajj, which is the pilgrimage during the Islamic month of Dhu
al-Hijjah in the city of Mecca. Every able-bodied Muslim who can
afford it must make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in his or her
lifetime.[52]

Law
The Sharia (literally "the path leading to the watering place") is Islamic law
formed by traditional Islamic scholarship, which most Muslim groups
adhere to. In Islam, Sharia is the expression of the divine will, and
"constitutes a system of duties that are incumbent upon a Muslim by virtue
of his religious belief".
Islamic law covers all aspects of life, from matters of state, like governance
and foreign relations, to issues of daily living. The Qur'an defines hudud as
the punishments for five specific crimes: unlawful intercourse, false
accusation of unlawful intercourse, consumption of alcohol, theft, and
highway robbery. The Qur'an and Sunnah also contain laws
of inheritance,marriage, and restitution for injuries and murder, as well as

7
rules for fasting, charity, and prayer. However,
these prescriptions and prohibitions may be broad, so their application in
practice varies. Islamic scholars (known as ulema) have elaborated systems
of law on the basis of these rules and their interpretations. Over the years
there have been changing views on Islamic law but many such
as Zahiri and Jariri have since died out.
Fiqh, or "jurisprudence", is defined as the knowledge of the practical rules
of the religion. The method Islamic jurists use to derive rulings is known
as usul al-fiqh ("legal theory", or "principles of jurisprudence"). According
to Islamic legal theory, law has four fundamental roots, which are given
precedence in this order: the Qur'an, the Sunnah (actions and sayings of
Muhammad), the consensus of the Muslim jurists (ijma), and analogical
reasoning (qiyas). For early Islamic jurists, theory was less important than
pragmatic application of the law. In the 9th century, the jurist ash-
Shafi'i provided a theoretical basis for Islamic law by codifying the
principles of jurisprudence (including the four fundamental roots) in his
book ar-Risālah.

Religion and state

Mainstream Islamic law does not distinguish between "matters of church"
and "matters of state"; the scholars function as both jurists and theologians.
In practice, Islamic rulers frequently bypassed the Sharia courts with a
parallel system of so-called "Grievance courts" over which they had sole
control. As the Muslim world came into contact with Western secular ideals,
Muslim societies responded in different ways. Turkey has been governed as
a secular state ever since the reforms of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. In contrast,
the1979 Iranian Revolution replaced a mostly secular regime with an Islamic
republic led by the Ayatollah Khomeini.

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Etiquette and diet
Many practices fall in the category of adab, or Islamic etiquette. This
includes greeting others with "as-salamu `alaykum" ("peace be unto you"),
saying bismillah ("in the name of God") before meals, and using only the
right hand for eating and drinking. Islamic hygienic practices mainly fall
into the category of personal cleanliness and health. Circumcision of male
offspring is also practiced in Islam. Islamic burial rituals include saying
the Salat al-Janazah ("funeral prayer") over the bathed and enshrouded dead
body, and burying it in a grave. Muslims are restricted in their diet.
Prohibited foods include pork products, blood, carrion, and alcohol. All meat
must come from a herbivorous animal slaughtered in the name of God by a
Muslim, Jew, or Christian, with the exception of game that one has hunted or
fished for oneself. Food permissible for Muslims is known as halal food.

Jihad:-
Jihad means "to strive or struggle" (in the way of God) and is considered the
"Sixth Pillar of Islam" by a minority of Sunni Muslim authorities. Jihad, in
its broadest sense, is classically defined as "exerting one's utmost power,
efforts, endeavors, or ability in contending with an object of disapprobation."
Depending on the object being a visible enemy, the devil, and aspects of
one's own self, different categories of Jihad are defined.[ Jihad, when used
without any qualifier, is understood in its military aspect. Jihad also refers to
one's striving to attain religious and moral perfection. Some Muslim
authorities, especially among the Shi'a and Sufis, distinguish between the
"greater jihad", which pertains to spiritual self-perfection, and the "lesser
jihad", defined as warfare.
Within Islamic jurisprudence, jihad is usually taken to mean military
exertion against non-Muslim combatants in the defense or expansion of
the Ummah. The ultimate purpose of military jihad is debated, both within
the Islamic community and without, with some claiming that it only serves
to protect the Ummah, with no aspiration of offensive conflict, whereas
others have argued that the goal of Jihad is global conquest. Jihad is the only

9
form of warfare permissible in Islamic law and may be declared against
apostates, rebels, highway robbers, violent groups, and leaders or states who
oppress Muslims or hamper proselytizing efforts. Most Muslims today
interpret Jihad as only a defensive form of warfare: the external Jihad
includes a struggle to make the Islamic societies conform to the Islamic
norms of justice.
Under most circumstances and for most Muslims, jihad is a collective duty
(fard kifaya): its performance by some individuals exempts the others. Only
for those vested with authority, especially the sovereign (imam), does jihad
become an individual duty. For the rest of the populace, this happens only in
the case of a general mobilization. For most Shias, offensive jihad can only
be declared by a divinely appointed leader of the Muslim community, and as
such is suspended since Muhammad al-Mahdi's occultation in 868 AD.

History

Muhammad (610–632)
.

Muhammad (c. 570 – June 8, 632) was a trader later becoming a religious,
political, and military leader. However, Muslims do not view Muhammad as
the creator of Islam, but instead regard him as the last messenger of God,
through which the Qur'an was revealed. Muslims view Muhammad as the
restorer of the original, uncorrupted monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham,
Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. In Muslim tradition, Muhammad is
viewed as the last and the greatest in a series of prophets—as the man
closest to perfection, the possessor of all virtues. For the last 22 years of his
life, in 610, beginning at age 40, Muhammad started receiving revelations
from God. The content of these revelations, known as the Qur'an, was
memorized and recorded by his companions.

10
During this time, Muhammad preached to the people of Mecca, imploring
them to abandon polytheism. Although some converted to Islam,
Muhammad and his followers were persecuted by the leading Meccan
authorities. After 12 years of preaching, Muhammad and the Muslims
performed the Hijra ("emigration") to the city of Medina (formerly known
as Yathrib) in 622. There, with the Medinan converts (Ansar) and the
Meccan migrants (Muhajirun), Muhammad established his political
and religious authority. Within years, two battles had been fought against
Meccan forces: the Battle of Badr in 624, which was a Muslim victory, and
the Battle of Uhud in 625, which ended inconclusively. Conflict with
Medinan Jewish clans who opposed the Muslims led to their exile,
enslavement or death, and the Jewish enclave of Khaybar was subdued. At
the same time, Meccan trade routes were cut off as Muhammad brought
surrounding desert tribes under his control. By 629 Muhammad was
victorious in the nearly bloodless Conquest of Mecca, and by the time of his
death in 632 (at the age of 62) he ruled over the Arabian peninsula.

Rise of the caliphate and civil war (632–

750)
Muhammad began preaching Islam at Mecca before migrating to Medina,
from where he united the tribes of Arabia into a singular Arab Muslim
religious polity. With Muhammad's death in 632, disagreement broke out
over who would succeed him as leader of the Muslim community. Umar ibn
al-Khattab, a prominent companion of Muhammad, nominated Abu Bakr,
who was Muhammad's companion and close friend. Others added their
support and Abu Bakr was made the first caliph. Abu Bakr's immediate task
was to avenge a recent defeat byByzantine (or Eastern Roman Empire)
forces, although he first had to put down a rebellion by Arab tribes in an
episode known as the Ridda wars, or "Wars of Apostasy"
His death in 634 resulted in the succession of Umar as the caliph, followed
by Uthman ibn al-Affan and Ali ibn Abi Talib. These four are known as al-

11
khulafā' ar-rāshidūn ("Rightly Guided Caliphs"). Under them, the territory
under Muslim rule expanded deeply into Persian and Byzantine territories.
When Umar was assassinated in 644, the election of Uthman as successor
was met with increasing opposition. In 656, Uthman was also killed, and Ali
assumed the position of caliph. After fighting off opposition in the first civil
war (the "First Fitna"), Ali was assassinated by Kharijites in 661. Following
this, Mu'awiyah, who was governor of Levant, seized power and began
the Umayyad dynasty.
These disputes over religious and political leadership would give rise to
schism in the Muslim community. The majority accepted the legitimacy of
the three rulers prior to Ali, and became known as Sunnis. A minority
disagreed, and believed that Ali was the only rightful successor; they became
known as the Shi'a. After Mu'awiyah's death in 680, conflict over succession
broke out again in a civil war known as the "Second Fitna". Afterward, the
Umayyad dynasty prevailed for seventy years, and was able to conquer
the Maghrib and Al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula,
former Visigothic Hispania) and the Narbonnese Gaul) in the west as well as
expand Muslim territory into Sindh and the fringes of Central Asia. One of
the best preserved architectural examples of Islamic conquest, is the Great
Mosque of Kairouan (in Tunisia) founded in 670 by the Arab conqueror and
Umayyad general Uqba ibn Nafi and considered as the ancestor and model
for all the mosques in the western Islamic world. The muladies (Muslims of
ethnic Iberian origin) are believed to have comprised the majority of the
population of Al-Andalus by the end of the 10th century. While the Muslim-
Arab elite engaged in conquest, some devout Muslims began to question the
piety of indulgence in a worldly life, emphasizing rather poverty, humility
and avoidance of sin based on renunciation of bodily desires. Devout
Muslim ascetic exemplars such as Hasan al-Basri would inspire a movement
that would evolve into Sufism.
For the Umayyad aristocracy, Islam was viewed as a religion for Arabs
only; the economy of the Umayyad empire was based on the assumption that
a majority of non-Muslims (Dhimmis) would pay taxes to the minority of
Muslim Arabs. A non-Arab who wanted to convert to Islam was supposed to
first become a client of an Arab tribe. Even after conversion, these new
Muslims (mawali) did not achieve social and economic equality with the

12
Arabs. The descendants of Muhammad's uncle Abbas ibn Abd al-
Muttalib rallied discontented mawali, poor Arabs, and some Shi'a against the
Umayyads and overthrew them with the help of their propagandist and
general Abu Muslim, inaugurating the Abbasid dynasty in 750.

Golden Age (750–1258)

Under the Abbasids, Islamic civilization flourished in the "Islamic Golden
Age", with its capital at the cosmopolitan city of Baghdad.[88] Themajor
hadith collections were compiled and the four modern Sunni Madh'habs
were established. Islamic law was advanced greatly by the efforts of the
early 9th century jurist al-Shafi'i; he codified a method to establish the
reliability of hadith, a topic which had been a locus of dispute among
Islamic scholars. Philosophers Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Al-Farabi sought to
incorporate Greek principles into Islamic theology, while others like the 11th
century theologian Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali argued against them and
ultimately prevailed. Sufismbecame a full-fledged movement that had
moved towards mysticism and away from its ascetic roots, while Shi'ism
split due to disagreements over the succession of Imams. The spread of the
Islamic dominion induced hostility among medieval ecclesiastical Christian
authors who saw Islam as an adversary in the light of the large numbers of
new Muslim converts. This opposition resulted in polemical treatises which
depicted Islam as the religion of the antichrist and of Muslims as libidinous
and subhuman.
The Bimaristan hospitals, (which replaced healing temples and sleep
temples) are considered "the first hospitals" in the modern sense of the
word and issued the first medical diplomas to license doctors of
medicine. The Guinness Book of World Records recognizes theUniversity of
Al Karaouine as the oldest degree-granting university in the world with its
founding in 859 CE. The origins of the doctorate also dates back to
the ijazat attadris wa 'l-ifttd ("license to teach and issue legal opinions")
in madrasahs which taught law. During this time, standards
of experimental and quantification techniques were introduced to the
scientific process to distinguish between competing theories. Ibn Al-
Haytham is regarded as the father of the modern scientific method and often
referred to as the "world’s first true scientist." It is argued that the tradition

13
of citation and referencing began during this time.Legal institutions
introduced in Islamic law include the trust and charitable
trust (Waqf), the agency and aval (Hawala), and the lawsuit and medical peer
review.

Fragmentation and invasions

By the late 9th century, the Abbasid caliphate began to fracture as various
regions gained increasing levels of autonomy. Across North Africa, the
Middle East and Central Asia, emirates formed as provinces broke away.
The monolithic Arab empire gave way to a more religiously
homogenized Muslim world where the Shia Fatimids contested even the
religious authority of the caliphate. In the 10th century the
powerfulGhaznavids conquered the Afghan-Persian region and a large part
of the Indian subcontinent in the name of Islam. They were replaced by
theGhurids in the 12th century. In 836, Caliph Al-Mu'tasim moved
the capital of the Caliphate from Baghdad to the new city of Samarra, which
would remain the capital until 892 when it was returned to Baghdad by al-
Mu'tamid. By 1055 the Seljuq Turks had eliminated the Abbasids as a
military power, nevertheless they continued to respect the caliph's titular
authority. During this time, expansion of the Muslim world continued, by
both conquest and peaceful proselytism even as both Islam and Muslim
trade networks were extending into sub-Saharan West Africa, Central
Asia, Volga Bulgaria and the Malay archipelago.
The Reconquista was launched against Muslim principalities in Iberia, and
Muslim Italian possessions were lost to the Normans. From the 11th century
onwards alliances of European Christian kingdoms mobilized to launch a
series of wars known as the Crusades, aimed at reversing Muslim military
conquests within the eastern part of the former Roman Empire, especially in
the Holy Land. Initially successful in this aim, and establishing the Crusader
states, these acquisitions were later reversed by subsequent Muslim generals
such as Saladin, who recaptured Jerusalem in 1187.
In the east the Mongol Empire put an end to the Abbassid dynasty at
the Battle of Baghdad in 1258, as they overran the Muslim lands in a series
of invasions. Meanwhile in Egypt, the slave-soldier Mamluks took control in
an uprising in 1250 and in alliance with the Golden Horde halted the

14
Mongol armies at the Battle of Ain Jalut. Over the next century the
MongolKhanates converted to Islam and this religious and cultural
absorption ushered in a new age of Mongol-Islamic synthesis that shaped the
further spread of Islam in central Asia, eastern Europe and the Indian
subcontinent. The Crimean Khanate was one of the strongest powers
in Eastern Europe until the end of the 17th century. The Black
Death ravaged much of the Islamic world in the mid-14th century, probably
brought by merchants making use of free passage offered by the Pax
Mongolica.

New dynasties and colonialism (1030–

1918)
In the 13th and 14th centuries the Ottoman Empire (named after Osman I)
emerged from among these "Ghazi emirates" and established itself after a
string of conquests that included theBalkans, parts of Greece, and western
Anatolia. In 1453 under Mehmed II the Ottomans laid siege
to Constantinople, the capital of Byzantium, which succumbed shortly
thereafter, having been overwhelmed by a far greater number of Ottoman
troops and to a lesser extent, cannonry. The Ottomans launched a European
campaign which reached as far as the gates of Vienna in 1529. Under
Ottoman rule, many people in the Balkans became Muslim. Around the 18th
century, despite attempts at modernization, the Ottoman empire had begun to
feel threatened by European economic and military advantages.

From the 14th to the 16th century much of the eastern Islamic world was
experiencing another golden age under the Timurid dynasty. In the early
16th century, the Safavid dynasty assumed control in Persia and established
Shi'a Islam as an official religion there, and despite periodic setbacks, the
Safavids remained in power for two centuries until being usurped by
the Hotaki dynasty in the early 18th century.

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Beginning in the 13th century, Sufism underwent a transformation, largely as
a result of the efforts of al-Ghazzali to legitimize and reorganize the
movement. He developed the model of the Sufi order—a community of
spiritual teachers and students. Also of importance to Sufism was the
creation of the Masnavi, a collection of mystical poetry by the 13th
century Persian poet Rumi. The Masnavi had a profound influence on the
development of Sufi religious thought; to many Sufis it is second in
importance only to the Qur'an.
After the invasion of Persia and sack of Baghdad by the Mongols in the mid
13th century, Delhi became the most important cultural centre of the Muslim
east. Many Islamic dynasties ruled parts of the Indian subcontinent starting
with the Ghaznavids in the 10th century. The prominent ones included
the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526) and the Mughal Empire (1526–1857).
These empires helped in the spread of Islam in South Asia, but by the early
18th century the Hindu Maratha Empire was becoming the pre-eminent
power in northern India until they were weakened by the Durrani Empire in
the mid-18th century.
It was during the 18th century that the Wahhabi movement took hold in
Saudi Arabia. Founded by the preacher Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, Wahhabism is a
fundamentalist ideology that condemns practices like Sufism and the
veneration of saints as un-Islamic. In the 19th century,
the Salafi, Deobandi and Barelwi movements were initiated.
By the 19th century the British Empire had formally ended the last Mughal
dynasty, and overthrew the Muslim-ruled Kingdom of Mysore. In the 19th
century, the rise of nationalism resulted in Greece declaring and winning
independence in 1829, with several Balkan states following suit after the
Ottomans suffered defeat in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. During
this time, many Muslims migrated, as indentured servants, from mostly
India and Indonesia to the Caribbean, forming the largest Muslim
populations by percentage in the Americas. Additionally, the resulting
urbanization and increase in trade in Africa brought Muslims to settle in new
areas and spread their faith. As a result, Islam in sub-Saharan Africa likely
doubled between 1869 and 1914. The Ottoman era came to a close at the end
of World War I and the Caliphate was abolished in 1924.

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Modern times (1918–present)
By the early years of the 20th century, most of the Muslim world outside the
Ottoman empire had been absorbed into the empires of non-Islamic
European powers. After World War Ilosses, nearly all of the Ottoman empire
was also parceled out as European protectorates or spheres of influence. In
the course of the 20th century, most of these European-ruled territories
became independent, and new issues such as oil wealth and relations with
the State of Israel have assumed prominence.
The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), consisting of Muslim
countries, was formally established in September 1969 after the burning of
the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Islamic revival and Islamist movements

The 20th century saw the Islamic world increasingly exposed to outside
cultural influences, bringing potential changes to Muslim societies. In
response, new Islamic "revivalist" movements were initiated as a counter
movement to non-Islamic ideas. Groups such as Jamaat-e-Islami
in Pakistan and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt advocate a totalistic and
theocratic alternative to secular political ideologies. Sometimes
called Islamist, they see Western cultural values as a threat, and promote
Islam as a comprehensive solution to every public and private question of
importance.
In countries like Iran, revolutionary movement replaced secular regime with
an Islamic state, while transnational groups like Osama bin Laden'sal-
Qaeda engage in terrorism to further their goals. In contrast, Liberal Islam is
a movement that attempts to reconcile religious tradition with modern norms
of secular governance and human rights. Its supporters say that there are
multiple ways to read Islam's sacred texts, and stress the need to leave room
for "independent thought on religious matters".

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Modern criticism of Islam includes accusations that Islam is intolerant of
criticism and that Islamic law is too hard on apostates from Islam. Critics
like Ibn Warraq question the morality of the Qu'ran, saying that its contents
justify the mistreatment of women and encourage antisemitic remarks by
Muslim theologians. Many authors have criticised Islam (as well as other
religions) as being sexist, intolerant, and warlike. Thinking that Islam is at
odds with modern science, and more particularly evolutionary biology,
Richard Dawkins wishes to popularize "evolution in the Islamic world." In
his book titled God Is Not Great, which criticizes all religions, Christopher
Hitchens expresses his opinion by stating that Islam is "dogmatic," and "the
fact remains that Islam's core claim – to be unimprovable and final – is at
once absurd." Such claims have been challenged by many Muslim scholars
and writers including Fazlur Rahman Malik, Syed Ameer Ali, Ahmed
Deedat and Yusuf Estes.
Others like Daniel Pipes and Martin Kramer focus more on criticizing the
spread of Islamic fundamentalism, a danger they feel has been
ignored. Montgomery Watt and Norman Daniel dismiss many of the
criticisms as the product of old myths and polemics. The rise
of Islamophobia, according to Carl Ernst, had contributed to the negative
views about Islam and Muslims in the West. In contrast, Pascal
Bruckner and Paul Berman have entered the "Islam in Europe" debate.
Berman identifies a "reactionary turn in the intellectual world" represented
by Western scholars who idealize Islam.

Community
Demographics
A comprehensive 2009 demographic study of 232 countries and territories
reported that 23% of the global population or 1.57 billion people are
Muslims. Of those, an estimated 87–90% are Sunni and 10–13% are Shi'a,[7]
[6]
with a small minority belonging to other sects. Approximately 50
countries are Muslim-majority,[136] and Arabs account for around 20% of all

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Muslims worldwide.[137] Between 1900 and 1970 the global Muslim
community grew from 200 million to 551 million;[138] between 1970 and
2009 Muslim population increased more than three times to 1.57 billion.
The majority of Muslims live in Asia and Africa.[139] Approximately 62% of
the world's Muslims live in Asia, with over 683 million adherents
in Indonesia, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.[140][141] In the Middle East,
non-Arab countries such as Turkey andIran are the largest Muslim-majority
countries; in Africa, Egypt and Nigeria have the most populous Muslim
communities.
Most estimates indicate that the People's Republic of China has
approximately 20 to 30 million Muslims (1.5% to 2% of the
population). However, data provided by the San Diego State University's
International Population Center to U.S. News & World Report suggests that
China has 65.3 million Muslims. Islam is the second largest religion
after Christianity in many European countries, and is slowly catching up to
that status in the Americas, with between 2,454,000, according to Pew
Forum, and approximately 7 million Muslims, according to the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), in the United States.

Mosques
A mosque is a place of worship for Muslims, who often refer to it by its
Arabic name, masjid. The word mosque in English refers to all types of
buildings dedicated to Islamic worship, although there is a distinction in
Arabic between the smaller, privately owned mosque and the larger,
"collective" mosque (masjid jāmi`). Although the primary purpose of the
mosque is to serve as a place of prayer, it is also important to theMuslim
community as a place to meet and study. Modern mosques have evolved
greatly from the early designs of the 7th century, and contain a variety of
architectural elements such as minarets.

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Family life
The basic unit of Islamic society is the family, and Islam defines the
obligations and legal rights of family members. The father is seen as
financially responsible for his family, and is obliged to cater for their well-
being. The division of inheritance is specified in the Qur'an, which states
that most of it is to pass to the immediate family, while a portion is set aside
for the payment of debts and the making of bequests. The woman's share of
inheritance is generally half of that of a man with the same rights of
succession. Marriage in Islam is a civil contract which consists of an offer
and acceptance between two qualified parties in the presence of two
witnesses. The groom is required to pay a bridal gift (mahr) to the bride, as
stipulated in the contract.
A man may have up to four wives if he believes he can treat them equally,
while a woman may have only one husband. In most Muslim countries, the
process of divorce in Islam is known as talaq, which the husband initiates by
pronouncing the word "divorce". Scholars disagree whether Islamic holy
texts justify traditional Islamic practices such as veiling and seclusion
(purdah).
Starting in the 20th century, Muslim social reformers argued against these
and other practices such as polygamy in Islam, with varying success. At the
same time, many Muslim women have attempted to reconcile tradition with
modernity by combining an active life with outward modesty.
Certain Islamist groups like the Taliban have sought to continue traditional
law as applied to women.

Calendar
The formal beginning of the Muslim era was chosen to be the Hijra in 622
CE, which was an important turning point in Muhammad's fortunes. The
assignment of this year as the year 1 AH (Anno Hegirae) in the Islamic
calendar was reportedly made by Caliph Umar. It is a lunar calendar, with
nineteen ordinary years of 354 days and eleven leap years of 355 days in a

20
thirty-year cycle. Islamic dates cannot be converted to CE/AD dates simply
by adding 622 years: allowance must also be made for the fact that each
Hijri century corresponds to only 97 years in the Christian calendar.
The year 1428 AH coincides almost completely with 2007 CE.
Islamic holy days fall on fixed dates of the lunar calendar, which means that
they occur in different seasons in different years in the Gregorian calendar.
The most important Islamic festivals are Eid al-Fitr (Arabic: ‫ )عيد الفطر‬on the
1st of Shawwal, marking the end of the fasting month Ramadan, and Eid al-
Adha (Arabic) on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijjah, coinciding with the pilgrimage
to Mecca. Similar to the Jewish calendar, days in the Islamic calendar last
from sunset to sunset.

Clergy
There are many terms in Islam to refer to religiously sanctioned positions of
Islam but generally refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars
engaged in the several fields ofIslamic studies. In a broader sense, the
term ulema is used to describe the body of Muslim clergy who have
completed several years of training and study of Islamic sciences, such as
amufti, qadi, faqih, or muhaddith. Some Muslims include under this term the
village mullahs, imams, and maulvis—who have attained only the lowest
rungs on the ladder of Islamic scholarship; other Muslims would say that
clerics must meet higher standards to be considered ulema. Some Muslims
pratcise ijtihad whereby they don't accept the authority of clergy.

Art
Islamic art encompasses the visual arts produced from the 7th century
onwards by people (not necessarily Muslim) who lived within the territory
that was inhabited by Muslim populations. It includes fields as varied
as architecture, calligraphy, painting, and ceramics, among others. Perhaps
the most important expression of Islamic art is architecture, particularly that

21
of the mosque (four-iwan and hypostyle). Through the edifices, the effect of
varying cultures within Islamic civilization can be illustrated. The North
African and Spanish Islamic architecture, for example, hasRoman-
Byzantine elements, as seen in the Great Mosque of Kairouan which
contains marble and porphyry columns from Roman and Byzantine
buildings, in the Alhambra palace at Granada, or in the Great Mosque of
Cordoba.

Denominations

Sunni
Sunni Muslims are the largest group in Islam, comprising the vast bulk of
the world's 1.5 billion Muslims, hence the title Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-
Jamā‘ah(people of the principle and majority). In Arabic, as-
Sunnah literally means "principle" or "path". The Qur'an and the Sunnah (the
example of Muhammad's life) as recorded in hadith are the primary
foundations of Sunni doctrine. According to Sunni Islam, the "normative"
example of Muhammad's life is called the Sunnah (literally "trodden path").
This example is preserved in traditions known as hadith ("reports"), which
recount his words, his actions, and his personal characteristics. The classical
Muslim jurist ash-Shafi'i (d. 820) emphasized the importance of the Sunnah
inIslamic law, and Muslims are encouraged to emulate Muhammad's actions
in their daily lives. The Sunnah is seen as crucial to guiding interpretation of
the Qur'an. Two major hadith collections are Sahih Bukhari and Sahih
Muslim. Sunnis believe that the first four caliphs were the rightful
successors to Muhammad; since God did not specify any particular leaders
to succeed him, those leaders had to be elected. Sunnis believe that a caliph
should be chosen by the whole community.
There are four recognised madh'habs (schools of thought) :
Hanafi , Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali. All four accept the validity of the
others and a Muslim may choose any one that he or she finds

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agreeable. The Salafi (known as Wahhabi by its adversaries) is a orthodox
movement which takes the first generation of Muslims as exemplary models.

Shi'a
The Shi'a constitute 10–13% of Islam and are its second-largest
branch. They believe in the political and religious leadership of Imams from
the progeny of Ali ibn Abi Talib, who according to most Shi'a are in a state
of ismah, meaning infallibility. They believe that Ali ibn Abi Talib, as the
cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, was his rightful successor, and they
call him the first Imam (leader), rejecting the legitimacy of the previous
Muslim caliphs. To most Shi'a, an Imam rules by right of divine appointment
and holds "absolute spiritual authority" among Muslims, having final say in
matters of doctrine and revelation. Shias regard Ali as the prophet's true
successor and believe that a caliph is appointed by divine will. Shi'a Islam
has several branches, the largest of which is the Twelvers (iṯnāʿašariyya)
which the label Shi'a generally refers to. Although the Twelver Shi'a share
many core practices with the Sunni, the two branches disagree over the
proper importance and validity of specific collections of hadith. The Twelver
Shi'a follow a legal tradition called Ja'fari jurisprudence. Other smaller
groups include the Ismaili and Zaidi, who differ from Twelvers in both their
line of successors and theological beliefs.

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